Friday, February 12, 2016

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) in Ria Formosa Natural Park, near Faro-airport, 22-Jan-2016. I had a close
encounter with this bird just before sunset...

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) near Faro-airport, 22-Jan-2016. The same Ind. as above. I also observed this species in Tavira-area and others were found at Ria de Alvor. This wintering birds arrived rather late in the winter though this year, due to relatively mild temperatures in the north.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) looking down on me, yesterday, 11-Feb-2016 in "Ludo" (Faro). This bird
has been ringed as a juvenile in South Scotland. Information I received from the ringer: "CK4 was ringed in the tweed valley (Scottish borders) from a brood of 2 chicks on 26/06/2012 BTO number 1445932."

Osprey - Another Ind. (2nd calender year) without a ring, was accompanying the above bird.
Counts in the last two winters showed that about 10 Ind, of this species winter in the areas of the
Ria Formosa Natural Park between Tavira and Quinta do Lago. 11-Feb-2016.

Female Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus) near Aljezur, 01-Feb-2016. This species is mainly found in the western Algarve,
at the west coast and around Monchique.

This White-winged Snowfich (Montifingrilla nivalis) is the first documented record of this species in Portugal
since 2005. It has been found near Praia de Armoreira, Aljezur on 31-Jan-2016 by Nuno Dosantos and was
still at the same location today. It breeds in the high mountain ranges of the Alps and the Pyrenees.
I took this foto on February, 1st. For me this is my 322nd bird species seen in the Algarve.

A feeding flock of Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) at a rice paddy between Lagoa and Silves.
The numbers of this fascinating bird species have increased over the last decade - here as
in all western Europe (you can click the image to zoom in).